Karl Lagerfeld, Then and Now

Our thanks to the photo department of French Elle, who recently unearthed a rare childhood photo of Karl Lagerfeld. Even as an elementary school kid living amid the gloom of World War II–era Germany, he was already showing some fashion foreshadowing: He's wearing the same tall white collar that he currently favors, and the dominant color of his look was, as it is today, black.

What would Karl have to say about the public feasting on his old pictures? Considering he refuses to divulge the year he was born, we're guessing it would be "No comment."